A Silly Hatter and a Tea Party
by DinosaursOnASpaceship
Summary: Paige is in the midst of one of her daily tea parties when the strange neighbor wanders in


She could feel someone staring at her before she saw who it was. Paige was in the front yard of her rather nice house. The trees of the forest separating her family from the mildly busy center of town. There in her isolated little wonderland she would daily make a tea party for herself and her stuffed animals. That day the usual gang was together: her stuffed rabbit, tortuous, and mouse were all set around a miniature table with miniature tea cups. This was her ritual, something she did daily after school (at four because tea is always at four). Her parents would often act concerned about this. They would say a girl of her age should stop having pretend tea parties.

"Why do you have these tea parties, Paige? What reason do you have?" Her mother asked her one day at dinner.

"They're fun." Paige had responded unconvincingly, mouth filled with peas. She had told a partial truth. It was fun, playing pretend, but there was something greater, something more about it that Paige couldn't quite put into words.

"I'm sure it's fun, but I know that isn't the real reason," her mother stared daggers at Paige who searched for the closest word to match the cause of her daily tea parties. Finally she found it.

"Because I'm waiting."

"For what?" It was her father who spoke up, raising a single eyebrow. Paige sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know." This worried her parents tremendously. The very next day they took her to see Doctor Hopper, the town therapist. He told them that it was just her overactive imagination and that she would stop when she was ready. Her parents were not quite reassured by this and still found the whole idea worisome. But, nevertheless, Paige continued her tea parties.

And that was where she was, surrounded by inanimate friends, when she realized someone was watching her. The tingling on the back of her neck was the first sign, then the slight crunch of leaves that echoed in her ears. She put down the little cup that was clutched in her right hand and slowly looked up. There, about fifty feet away, was her neighbor. The man with the sad and wild eyes who her parents had warned her about long ago. When their eyes met, his face twisted with some emotion Paige could not quite pinpoint. Her insides felt an odd warmth and a distant, familiar aura charged the air. They both stared at each other for a moment. Finally Paige spoke trying to break the weird atmosphere that had formed.

"Hello, sir. Is everything alright?" She made sure her voice didn't reflect the wariness she felt. Her parents had said this man was possibly dangerous, but at that moment he just seemed down. At her words, he took an unconscious step back.

"Oh, um, yes." He blinked, startled. "Everything is fine. I've just lost something." He looked around distractedly. The little girl quickly turned to make sure her parents weren't watching her ( _No, of course they aren't_, she thought. _They are grocery shopping_) and then quickly made her way over to the man.

"What have you lost? I can help you find it. I'm very good at finding things." She smiled proudly at the man, who gave a sad smile in return.

"I've lost my family."

"Your family?"

"Yes."

"I don't suppose you mean that you misplaced them?" The man laughed at the girl's words. Paige took this as a form of encouragement and stepped a bit closer to him.

"No, I didn't misplace them. I made a stupid mistake and now they're gone." The man rubbed his neck anxiously and Paige noticed a large scar that seemed to circle the perimeter of his neck. She gulped and looked away from it. She longed to ask about it, but she did not.

"Then why are you looking for them?" He looked at her for a second, she could sense his mind churning and thinking, but she had no idea what about. _Probably his family_, she thought. Finally he gave her a smile.

"Because I'm just being silly."

"I don't think it's silly that you miss your family or that you're looking for them." She thought about how everyone thought she was silly for having her tea parties. No, it wasn't silly, her tea parties nor this man's fruitless search for a missing family. She felt some invisible tug towards this man, so sad and alone. He did not seem dangerous nor crazy and she longed, at that moment, to be his friend. "Come, join my tea party!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the little table across the grass. "I have real tea, but the cups are small. Sorry about that." He followed her, only slightly hesitating. He allowed her to sit him down and pour him a (very tiny) cup of tea.

"Will your-" He stopped and cleared his voice slightly, "parents be alright with this?"

"I'm not sure," she hesitated. "But I think they are out at the moment and I would really like to not be alone." The man nodded and took a sip of the cold, over saturated tea. He smiled warmly.

"Do you know the story of _Alice in Wonderland_?" Paige looked up, a bit surprised at the subject change.

"I think I saw the movie a long time ago..." She paused for a moment, thinking back. "All I remember is a silly hatter and a tea party." The man nodded and for a moment his eyes glassed over, as if he were about to cry. But as soon as Paige registered this, it was gone. She shook it off, assuming it was just her imagination.

"Yes, exactly," the man took another sip of tea. "A silly hatter and a tea party."


End file.
